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The Great Salt Lake is shrinking rapidly and Utah has failed to stop it, a new lawsuit says

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

By JESSE BEDAYN (Associated Press/Report for America)Utah state government officials have pushed the Great Salt Lake to the brink of an ecological collapse by decades of allowing upstream water to be diverted away from the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River and primarily to farmers growing alfalfa, hay and other crops, says a new lawsuit filed Wednesday by a coalition of environmental groups. The lake first hit a record low in the summer of 2021, fueling renewed attention from Utah’s Republican-led Legislature. But lawmakers’ actions have not been enough to assuage the concerns of a coalition that includes Earthjustice, the Utah Rivers Council and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, among others. They want a court to step in and force the state to let more water reach the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, which is an oasis for millions of migratory birds, an engine for Utah’s billion-dollar mineral industry and a tourist attra...

British soldier awaiting trial on terror-related charges escapes from London prison

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An urgent manhunt has been launched for a British soldier awaiting trial on terror-related charges, who escaped from a prison in southwest London, the country’s counterterror police said Wednesday. Police said Daniel Abed Khalife, who has been accused of planting fake bombs at a military base and of violating Britain’s Official Secrets Act, went missing from Wandsworth Prison early Wednesday. “We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent enquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism command.Murphy told Sky News that Khalife was dressed in a kitchen uniform of white T-shirt and red checkered trousers at the time of his escape, adding that there is no evidence he is still wearing that outfit. No official explanation of how Khalife escaped was provided.Murphy said there is no information to suggest that Khalife poses a thre...

The death toll from fierce storms and flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria has risen to 14

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — The death toll from severe rainstorms that lashed parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria increased to 14 on Wednesday after rescue teams in the three neighboring countries recovered seven more bodies.A flash flood at a campsite in northwestern Turkey near the border with Bulgaria killed at least five people — with three found dead on Wednesday — and carried away bungalow homes. Rescuers were still searching for one person reported missing at the campsite.Another two people died in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, where Tuesday’s storms inundated hundreds of homes and workplaces in several neighborhoods.The victims in Istanbul included a 32-year-old Guinean citizen who was trapped inside his basement apartment in the low-income Kucukcekmece district, Turkish broadcaster HaberTurk TV reported. The other was a 57-year-old woman who died after being swept away by the floods in another neighborhood, the private DHA news agency reported.The surging flood waters a...

More wild Atlantic salmon found in U.S. rivers than any time in the past decade, officials say

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, raising hopes they may be weathering myriad ecological threats.Officials counted more than 1,500 of the salmon in the Penobscot River, which is home to the country’s largest run of Atlantic salmon, Maine state data show. That is the most since 2011 when researchers counted about 2,900 of them.The salmon were once abundant in American rivers, but factors such as overfishing, loss of habitat and pollution reduced their populations to only a handful of rivers in Maine. The fish are protected by the Endangered Species Act, and sometimes only a few hundred of them return from the ocean to the rivers in a year.The greater survival of the salmon could be evidence that conservation measures to protect them are paying off, said Sean Ledwin, director of the Maine Department of Marine Resources sea-run fish programs. The count of river herring is also...

Carl Nassib, first openly gay player to play in NFL games, announces his retirement

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

Edge rusher Carl Nassib, the NFL’s first openly gay player to play in a regular-season game, announced his retirement on Wednesday.Nassib came out in 2021 while with the Las Vegas Raiders. He spent last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.“This is a bittersweet moment for me but after seven seasons and just over 100 NFL games I am officially retiring from football to focus on my company Rayze,” Nassib wrote on Instagram. “It really feels like just yesterday starting out as a walk-on at Penn State. “Football has given me more than I ever could have imagined. I can truly hang up my helmet for the last time knowing I gave it everything I had. Growing up I loved how fun football was. I loved the pursuit of perfection. I loved the small window where every player has to chase their dreams. It makes it all the more exciting if you get there. It was always my dream to play in the NFL, even as a walk-on, and I really feel like the luckiest guy on the planet.”The 30-year-old Nassib, a ...

On eve of party convention Poilievre says he’s not bound by grassroots’ policy ideas

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

OTTAWA — On the eve of his first policy convention as leader, Pierre Poilievre is reminding Canadians that he is not bound by the policies the Conservative grassroots choose to advance. He is in Quebec City a day before Conservatives hold a convention to talk about how to win the next federal election and debate than two-dozen policy suggestions from party members. Many of the ideas championed by different riding associations fall in line with Poilievre’s own priorities, such as bolstering public safety, making housing more affordable and speeding up credential recognition for skilled immigrants. Some others, however, appear to bristle against his agenda, including a pitch to pull government funding from both the English and French arms of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which receives roughly $1.2 billion in funding annually from Parliament.It’s an idea that is widely popular among the Conservative base, heavily concentrated in Western Canada, but one that those ...

‘Freedom Convoy’ got more volatile as protest went on, court hears

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

OTTAWA — The longer the “Freedom Convoy” protesters blockaded Ottawa streets in protest against COVID-19 public health restrictions last year, the more volatile the relationship between police and protesters became, an Ottawa police officer testified Wednesday. Insp. Russell Lucas was called as a Crown witness in the criminal trial of key protest organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber to testify about his role in co-ordinating the police response to the convoy.Lich and Barber are co-accused of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, obstructing police and intimidation for their role in the three-week demonstration.Thousands of people and big-rig trucks gridlocked Ottawa for three weeks to protest COVID-19 public health measures and the federal Liberal government, which eventually invoked the Emergencies Act.Lucas told the court that protesters were initially co-operative as police attempted to direct traffic as the vehicles began arriving.But as more days passe...

Statistics Canada says country posted $987M merchandise trade deficit in July

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Lower shipments of gold and the B.C. port strike weighed on imports as Canada’s merchandise trade deficit for July narrowed compared with June, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. The agency said the country posted a trade deficit of $987 million for the month compared with a revised deficit of $4.9 billion in June.“The B.C. port strike weighed on trade activity in July, and is expected to continue to have an impact in the coming months as the backlog clears,” BMO economist Shelly Kaushik wrote in a report.The result for July came as total imports fell 5.4 per cent with imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products down 25.3 per cent.Statistics Canada said imports of the subcategory including unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys fell 60.5 per cent in large part because of lower gold asset transfers between financial institutions. The agency also said imports of goods that typically come from Pacific Rim countries and rely ...

Russian missile turns Ukrainian market into fiery, blackened ruin strewn with bodies

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — The Russian missile that struck Wednesday in eastern Ukraine turned an outdoor market into a fiery, blackened ruin where weeping civilians looked for loved ones among the mangled, burned bodies scattered across the ground.The blast in the town of Kostiantynivka killed 17 people and wounded at least 32 in one of Russia’s deadliest strikes in months, Ukrainian officials said.“There was no military target here. This is a peaceful neighborhood in the city center,” Stefan Slovak, who lives in Kostiantynivka, said in a trembling voice.Behind him were the remnants of the market, where charred bodies could be seen in the street, their clothes still burning, near cars engulfed in flames. Behind a market stall holding fresh parsley, rescuers found a women in civilian clothes with her head covered in blood.Images taken by Associated Press reporters showed emergency workers extinguishing fires and tending to the wounded amid the wreckage that included ...

UAW chief: Union to strike any Detroit automaker that hasn’t reached deal as contracts end next week

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:50 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The head of the United Auto Workers warned Wednesday that the union plans to go on strike against any Detroit automaker that hasn’t reached a new agreement by the time contracts expire next week.“That’s the plan,” President Shawn Fain responded when asked if the union would strike any of the companies that haven’t reached a tentative deal by the time their national contracts end.A strike against all three major automakers — General Motors, Stellantis and Ford — could cause damage not only to the industry as a whole but also to the Midwest economy, and could lead eventually to higher vehicle prices.In an interview with The Associated Press, Fain left open the possibility of avoiding a strike. He acknowledged that the union will have to give up some of its demands to reach agreements. Contracts with the three companies will all expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.In the interview, Fain did report some progress in the negotiations, saying the union will meet Thursday wit...